G.R. No.

164815 February 22, 2008

SR. INSP. JERRY C. VALEROSO, petitioner,

vs.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Facts:

 On July 10, 1996, SPO2 Antonio M. Disuanco received a dispatch order to serve a warrant of
arrest against petitioner Sr. Insp. Jerry C. Valeroso for kidnapping with ransom.

 The police team, after surveillance, arrested Valeroso, informing him of his rights and
conducting a bodily search. They found an unlicensed Charter Arms revolver tucked in his waist.

 The firearm was not issued to Valeroso but to Raul Palencia Salvatierra, according to a
verification at the Firearms and Explosives Division.

 Valeroso was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition under P.D. No. 1866.

 During the trial, Valeroso claimed an illegal arrest, an unauthorized search, and contested the
lack of presentation of necessary documentation for the seized firearm.

Issue:

 Whether R.A. No. 8294, enacted on July 6, 1997, and amending P.D. No. 1866, should apply
retroactively to Valeroso's case.

Supreme Court's Ruling:

 Yes, R.A. No. 8294 does apply retroactively.

Explanation:

 The Court acknowledged the general rule against the retroactive application of penal laws to
prevent ex post facto laws.

 However, an exception exists when the law is advantageous to the accused. R.A. No. 8294,
though enacted after the commission of the offense, benefits Valeroso by lowering the penalty.

 The penalty imposed by the Court is consistent with R.A. No. 8294, providing a more lenient
sentence compared to the previous law.

 The Court affirmed the CA decision, modifying the penalty to 4 years and 2 months minimum to
6 years maximum, applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law.

 The subject firearm and ammunition were ordered confiscated in favor of the government
under Article 45 of the Revised Penal Code.
Petitioner was charged with the crime of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition under the first
paragraph of Section 1 of P.D. No. 1866, as amended. It provides that "[t]he penalty of reclusion
temporal in its maximum period to reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who shall
unlawfully manufacture, deal in, acquire, dispose, or possess any firearm, part of firearm, ammunition or
machinery, tool or instrument used or intended to be used in the manufacture of any firearm or
ammunition."

P.D. No. 1866, as amended, was the governing law at the time petitioner committed the offense on July
10, 1996. However, R.A. No. 8294 amended P.D. No. 1866 on July 6, 1997, 81 during the pendency of the
case with the trial court. The present law now states:

SECTION 1. Unlawful Manufacture, Sale, Acquisition, Disposition or Possession of Firearms or

Ammunition or Instruments Used or Intended to be Used in the Manufacture of Firearms or
Ammunition. – The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period and a fine of not less than
Fifteen Thousand Pesos (P15,000) shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully manufacture,
deal in, acquire, dispose, or possess any low-powered firearm, such as rimfire handgun, .380 or .32 and
other firearm of similar firepower, part of firearm, ammunition, or machinery, tool or instrument used
or intended to be used in the manufacture of any firearm or ammunition: Provided, That no other crime
was committed. (Underscoring supplied)

As a general rule, penal laws should not have retroactive application, lest they acquire the character of
an ex post facto law.82 An exception to this rule, however, is when the law is advantageous to the
accused. According to Mr. Chief Justice Araullo, this is "not as a right" of the offender, "but founded on
the very principles on which the right of the State to punish and the commination of the penalty are
based, and regards it not as an exception based on political considerations, but as a rule founded on
principles of strict justice."83

Although an additional fine of P15,000.00 is imposed by R.A. No. 8294, the same is still advantageous to
the accused, considering that the imprisonment is lowered to prision correccional in its maximum
period84 from reclusion temporal in its maximum period to reclusion perpetua85 under P.D. No. 1866.